I currently use my penfed plat card, as my main CashBack card and pay off the balance each month.

If I do a balance transfer for the 2.99%, and pay off my balance of my other monthly charges, how will the credit my card?

Anyone know?

I don't want to do a BT if Im going to get screwed on how they apply my payments, KWIM?

psychoslowmatic

Dismembered Member

posted: Apr. 13, 2009 @ 1:04p

They'll apply it to the lower APR balances first. Ask for some of your line to get split to a new platinum travel rewards card and do the transfer from that one.

Sintax

Ancient Member

posted: Apr. 13, 2009 @ 2:07p

Can I have a Platinum cash rewards and Travel rewards card?

rdsgonzo13

Addicted Member

posted: Apr. 13, 2009 @ 7:00p

Anyone know if PenFed allows you to directly deposit the BT in your checking account or check card? If not, does Citibank still allow you to get a credit balance back?

Proudparentof4

Member

posted: Apr. 13, 2009 @ 7:20p

Penfed will consider a bt to your checking account a cash advance and that has different terms. Citibank will allow a credit balance back but I would not make it too much or they may cause you trouble.

rdsgonzo13

Addicted Member

posted: Apr. 13, 2009 @ 7:54p

What if you try to use your check card? Will it work that way?

Unhindered

Member

posted: Apr. 14, 2009 @ 5:17p

VeryBadENGINEER said: Can BT offer be applied directly to a mortgage, or have to do a detour with another CC?

It seems it can be applied directly. I just called in, gave the account number and mailing address for my countrywide mortgage, and he said I'll se the adjustments within 3 days. So far so good.

americano

Senior Member

posted: Apr. 15, 2009 @ 4:03p

Unhindered said: It seems it can be applied directly. I just called in, gave the account number and mailing address for my countrywide mortgage, and he said I'll se the adjustments within 3 days. So far so good.Good information

rajesh01

Senior Member

posted: Apr. 16, 2009 @ 8:22a

Unhindered said: VeryBadENGINEER said: Can BT offer be applied directly to a mortgage, or have to do a detour with another CC?

It seems it can be applied directly. I just called in, gave the account number and mailing address for my countrywide mortgage, and he said I'll se the adjustments within 3 days. So far so good.

Are you sure about it. I spoke to Penfed earlier and they said it is considered as cash advance! I am confused now!! Every rep has their own opinion!!!

Can anyone confirm this please? Thanks.

SUCKISSTAPLES

FW Historian

posted: Apr. 16, 2009 @ 8:25a

Just send it to any of your credit cards where you get no fee BT checks or a capped fee BT deal.

sbguy

Member

posted: Apr. 16, 2009 @ 10:38a

FYI. I did not indicate that I wanted to do a balance transfer on my application and got declined after giving them income verification for LO review. I didn't specify because I wasn't yet sure exactly what I wanted to pay off. The CSR told me the LO declined my app because my d/i ratio was already too high and I had asked for 30k in new credit. As almost an afterthought, I said that I wanted to roll some of that variable rate debt into fixed. After realizing I was talking about BT, the CSR told me that changed everything, got the LO on the line, & agreed to approve me for 25k if I agreed to use it to pay off other debt. I asked her if that applied to a HELOC and she said yes. I'll double check to make sure it's not treated as a cash advance but she didn't indicate it would be.

They treat a request for BT much differently than one for a new LOC. My EQ FICO was mid 700s, 100k+ annual income, ~27% d/i. It was an honest oversight on my part as I do intend to pay down the HELOC to remove any potential barriers to refinancing my house if I decide to do that. I'm about 14 mos into a 5.5%, 30 yr fixed. I'm happy. Thanks FW.

Unhindered

Member

posted: Apr. 16, 2009 @ 12:38p

rajesh01 said: Unhindered said: It seems it can be applied directly. I just called in, gave the account number and mailing address for my countrywide mortgage, and he said I'll se the adjustments within 3 days. So far so good.

Are you sure about it. I spoke to Penfed earlier and they said it is considered as cash advance! I am confused now!! Every rep has their own opinion!!!

Can anyone confirm this please? Thanks.

I've spoken to 3 or 4 reps and they've all said the same thing. I transferred a portion (not even the full balance) of my 2nd mortgage to this new credit card and maxed out my new credit limit. The transfer is showing up on my account now. I've got the $100 fee (2.5% $100 max) and the balance with this description:

Looking to transfer an equity loan of about $17k to this card. With a 2% min payment, this deal would lower my DTI to about 26%. Trying to avoid a needless hard pull if the outstanding CC debt will kill the deal for me or not.

Do you get to request a BT to an equity loan on the online app, or can you only request BT to another CC that way?

internetle

Senior Member

posted: Apr. 16, 2009 @ 6:41p

Here is an interesting idea that I just did. Do a balance transfer on 4/14/2009 to pay off my daughter 529 prepay college, $43.8K, posted on 4/16/2009. Otherwise, I have to pay $491 a month for 10.9 years.

Furthermore, it gives me a chance to do 0% BTs to other cards as opportunities present itself.

chuzzlewit

Senior Member - 1K

posted: Apr. 17, 2009 @ 12:18p

Just spoke to Carmen, claimed that balance transfer can be applied to any balance including automobile and specifically would not be cash advance. I'm still not convinced however.

DaveHanson

Senior Member - 6K

posted: Apr. 17, 2009 @ 12:23p

chuzzlewit said: I'm still not convinced however.Why not?

One of the reasons PenFed is so revered here is that they actually employ customer friendly policies.

I'm confident that if you BT to any other loan, you'll get your promo rate.

ecjjones

Senior Member

posted: Apr. 17, 2009 @ 12:24p

chuzzlewit said: Just spoke to Carmen, claimed that balance transfer can be applied to any balance including automobile and specifically would not be cash advance. I'm still not convinced however.

WHY???

Not on this offer, but I've done a balance transfer on a car loan to a 0% card at the time with no fee.

Looking to transfer an equity loan of about $17k to this card. With a 2% min payment, this deal would lower my DTI to about 26%. Trying to avoid a needless hard pull if the outstanding CC debt will kill the deal for me or not.

Do you get to request a BT to an equity loan on the online app, or can you only request BT to another CC that way?

See my post above. Our stats are very, very similar. In addition to what I already posted, I had about $8k drawn on 2 CC's with about $30k CL.

sbguy

Member

posted: Apr. 17, 2009 @ 3:43p

BanffJasper said: chuzzlewit said: Ok, if Dave Hanson is confident than I am convinced now (not kidding). Does anyone know which CB penfed is using now? My experian can't handle any more hits right now

ecjones too, thanks

PenFed uses Equifax. I see this in my monthly statement with the big "YOU ARE APPROVED!" sign on top. Do they mean approved or pre-approved, or are these two just the same?

Banff is right. They primarily pull EQ. They pulled my EQ report this week. Creditboards.com has a great hard pull database for different lenders but you'll need to register.

taewlee

Broke Member

posted: Apr. 17, 2009 @ 5:49p

omg, i paid $25 to joino this union and they denied me on high debt to income ratio....

NDogg

Senior Member - 1K

posted: Apr. 17, 2009 @ 6:43p

taewlee said: omg, i paid $25 to joino this union and they denied me on high debt to income ratio....

was it greater than 38%?

s3riously

Senior Member

posted: Apr. 19, 2009 @ 12:25p

taewlee said: omg, i paid $25 to joino this union and they denied me on high debt to income ratio....

Been there. Done that. It bites.

synnyster

Tired Member

posted: Apr. 19, 2009 @ 4:27p

Just for the record, it was pretty easy BTing the remainder of my Chase car loan to the card. I was able to do it online without even calling PenFed. I've already gotten my first statement with the $100 fee with 2.99% APR.

Update: Just looked at my statement again. The amount transfered shows up as a cash advance but it clearly states it is at the 2.99% promotional rate.

SUCKISSTAPLES

FW Historian

posted: Apr. 19, 2009 @ 9:41p

Penfed says you can only payoff your own accounts, but i had no problem paying off another family members account in the same household

internetle

Senior Member

posted: Apr. 20, 2009 @ 6:33a

SUCKISSTAPLES said: Penfed says you can only payoff your own accounts, but i had no problem paying off another family members account in the same household

as stated on their website, you have to call in if the account is not in your name. Did you talk to CSR.

SUCKISSTAPLES

FW Historian

posted: Apr. 20, 2009 @ 7:23a

no i did it online

whoDean

Happy Member

posted: Apr. 20, 2009 @ 7:58a

Declined. "Pyramiding debt"

chuzzlewit

Senior Member - 1K

posted: Apr. 23, 2009 @ 8:31a

The terms say that all balance transfers are treated as cash advances meaning interest starts to accrue immediately, not that there is a higher rate or anything. Is there any other negative to having a cash advance from a balance transfer other than interest accruing for a parial month (which at 2.99% is neglible?)

Anyone actually transferred money to their Penfed checking or savings? It does appear like they will let you, although I didn't complete the transaction.

chuzzlewit

Senior Member - 1K

posted: Apr. 24, 2009 @ 12:47p

So I called up and asked what %age is charged on a cash advance and if that was different than balance transfer, she explained the difference being interest starts accruing immediately, blah blah. Then I said the terms clearly state that balance transfer is treated as a cash advance (not sure she believed it!), and if they will track cash advance balance resulting from balance transfer differently than cash advance resulting from cash advance. Basically went round in circles for 5 minutes and still don't have the answer, they seem stumped!

rajesh01

Senior Member

posted: Apr. 25, 2009 @ 7:11p

Ok. Here's what I've heard.

Balance transfer to a HELOC account is considered as Cash Advance. It is very clear and confirmed with two different reps.

The transfer is still balance transfer and displayed/considered as Cash Advance. There won't be a rate change. It is still 2.99% for the life of the loan.

chuzzlewit

Senior Member - 1K

posted: Apr. 26, 2009 @ 11:03a

rajesh01 said: Ok. Here's what I've heard.

Balance transfer to a HELOC account is considered as Cash Advance. It is very clear and confirmed with two different reps.

The transfer is still balance transfer and displayed/considered as Cash Advance. There won't be a rate change. It is still 2.99% for the life of the loan.

What, where did you hear that? Oh yeah, go to their home page and read the terms:

"Balance transfers are treated as cash advances, therefore finance charges accrue from the date the transfer is posted to your account."

internetle

Senior Member

posted: Apr. 26, 2009 @ 2:49p

it is true that this deal is considered to be a cash advance (2.99%). They did a cash advance into my penfed share account (saving) and wrote a check from there to pay off my loan. This way, they can charge you finance right away without having to wait for the check to clear at the other end.

It scared me at first so I called up CSR to make sure I got the 2.99% deal. She told me that it was a cash advance and my deal was 2.99% for life as stated.

chuzzlewit

Senior Member - 1K

posted: Apr. 26, 2009 @ 4:56p

internetle said: it is true that this deal is considered to be a cash advance (2.99%). They did a cash advance into my penfed share account (saving) and wrote a check from there to pay off my loan. This way, they can charge you finance right away without having to wait for the check to clear at the other end.

It scared me at first so I called up CSR to make sure I got the 2.99% deal. She told me that it was a cash advance and my deal was 2.99% for life as stated.

Does it specifically show up as "Cash Advance - 2.99%" on your credit card transactions?? If so, that is a hot deal. I've called a few times, and they seem very confused when I ask what the interest rate would be on a cash advance to my checking/savings. I guess I will try a trial transfer of $100 before going for the full $40,000

generics

Member

posted: Apr. 26, 2009 @ 8:57p

If counter offer comes up, do I need to call or is there some way to accept online?

swanage

Thrifty Member

posted: Apr. 26, 2009 @ 9:38p

internetle said: it is true that this deal is considered to be a cash advance (2.99%). They did a cash advance into my penfed share account (saving) and wrote a check from there to pay off my loan. This way, they can charge you finance right away without having to wait for the check to clear at the other end.

It scared me at first so I called up CSR to make sure I got the 2.99% deal. She told me that it was a cash advance and my deal was 2.99% for life as stated.When you wrote above "They......wrote a check from there to pay off my loan.", did you mean you wrote a check, or did they do a, I don't know what to call it, a push transaction to pay off your loan? Also, could you have written yourself a check or had a ACH done to another checking/savings account of yours?

chuzzlewit

Senior Member - 1K

posted: Apr. 26, 2009 @ 10:26p

swanage said: internetle said: it is true that this deal is considered to be a cash advance (2.99%). They did a cash advance into my penfed share account (saving) and wrote a check from there to pay off my loan. This way, they can charge you finance right away without having to wait for the check to clear at the other end.

It scared me at first so I called up CSR to make sure I got the 2.99% deal. She told me that it was a cash advance and my deal was 2.99% for life as stated.When you wrote above "They......wrote a check from there to pay off my loan.", did you mean you wrote a check, or did they do a, I don't know what to call it, a push transaction to pay off your loan? Also, could you have written yourself a check or had a ACH done to another checking/savings account of yours?

Just put through 2 trial transfers, one pf checking and one to a debit card, will report results when I get them (fingers crossed)

DaveHanson

Senior Member - 6K

posted: Apr. 27, 2009 @ 12:38p

chuzzlewit said: Ok, if Dave Hanson is confident than I am convinced now (not kidding)....[and later]...

Just put through 2 trial transfers, one pf checking and one to a debit card, will report results when I get them (fingers crossed)Thanks you for kind words, and good luck with the transfers!

On that subject. Last year during this promotion, I noticed that when card's balance was fully paid off the previous month, then during the billing cycle when a BT was done, exactly zero interest was charged...only the transfer fee posted. That saved Ms. DH about $120 in interest that first cycle. This did not happen in other cases with PenFed where I was already carrying a promotional balance during the same cycle. I've no reason to believe that any frontline CSRs were aware of this quasi-grace period. I chalked it up to yet another one of PenFed's obscure but customer friendly policies.

Let's see if it still works that way. If users would report how their first billing cycle's interest was billed, I'd be grateful. Assuming it does work the same way, I'll be paying off our current 2.99% offers completely at the end of our April/May billing cycle (you can call in to get an exact payoff amount ACH'd just before your cycle closes). Then as soon as our May/June cycle starts, I'll do a fresh large BT. (Note that in addition to saving interest, this tactic has the added advantage of reporting the PenFed card at a zero balance for the April/May cycle, which might give a month's boost to one's credit profile).

internetle

Senior Member

posted: Apr. 27, 2009 @ 12:43p

swanage said: internetle said: it is true that this deal is considered to be a cash advance (2.99%). They did a cash advance into my penfed share account (saving) and wrote a check from there to pay off my loan. This way, they can charge you finance right away without having to wait for the check to clear at the other end.

It scared me at first so I called up CSR to make sure I got the 2.99% deal. She told me that it was a cash advance and my deal was 2.99% for life as stated.When you wrote above "They......wrote a check from there to pay off my loan.", did you mean you wrote a check, or did they do a, I don't know what to call it, a push transaction to pay off your loan? Also, could you have written yourself a check or had a ACH done to another checking/savings account of yours?

the system shows they wrote a check to pay off my balance. My guest is that they do that so they can charge me interest right away instead of waiting for a check to clear if they charge against the credit car.

Got my first bill, interest was charge they day they paid off my loan. There was no grace period.

Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.

Members of our community may attach files to a post in accordance with the User Agreement. FatWallet is not responsible for the content, accuracy, completeness or validity of any information contained in any attached file. Files have *not* been scanned for viruses. Be especially wary of Excel files which may contain malicious content.

FatWallet coupons help you save more when shopping online. Use our Coupons Search to browse coupons and offers from thousands of stores, gathered into one convenient location.

Forums
As part of our FatWallet Community, you can share deals with almost a million shoppers in our forums. Forum content is generated by consumers for consumers. Share deals, money-saving tips, and more. It's FREE, fun, and addicting.

Support
Our customer experience team is here around the clock - real people ready to assist.